Heaven on Earth
by LOSTnDomsEyes
Summary: Claire realizes she loves Charlie when she fears something has happened to him. She's relieved when he returns, but there's something different about him. Takes place during Live Together, Die Alone and afterwards. Finished!
1. What Happened

"What happened out there, Charlie?"

Claire had been so confused by the days events. Hell, when hadn't she been confused since they had landed on this bizarre island. She had been worrying about Charlie all day. Why? She couldn't even answer that herself. She had been so angry at him. So furious. But, she had every right to be. He had lied to her, taken her baby, not to mention he was a drug addict. Or at least she had thought he was a drug addict. She found that as this particular day went by the drug theory was wondering further and further away from her mind.

She had seen Charlie run off with Eko earlier that day and had not thought twice about it. But as the day progressed she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that he wasn't coming back. It had been nagging her. Something had happened. There are some feelings that you get that you know are true, and this was that feeling for Claire.

She found herself watching the jungle for any sign of his return. And as she watched she caught herself thinking about him. About how she had never truly been mad at him just upset, hurt and most of all stubborn. And how she had always somewhere thought or at least hoped that he had never really used the drugs…And that she loved him.

Yes, somewhere in the long hours she had waited she realized she loved Charlie. She had loved him since the beginning. Since he had tried so hard to find her peanut butter. Such a trivial thing. Just to move to the caves, where he thought he could keep her safe.

But she had been so scared. So scared that she would give her heart away just to be thrown into the garbage, and if there was one thing Claire was determined of it was not to make that same mistake again. Her worries had vanished as a new fear approached.

The sky turned violent as a sharp noise pierced through the air. She stood up quickly as a reflex. She swooped the now screaming baby into her arms trying to soften the noise to his sensitive ears. She tried to protect the young infant, but the only thought coming to her mind was I wish Charlie was here… to protect me.

The noise stopped and she relaxed for a moment before feeling two hand on her back pushing her forward. And for a second she thought it was Charlie. She snapped her head around quickly to see Bernard. Why was he pushing her? It didn't take Claire long to notice the huge chuck of metal heading towards her and with a BAM it hit right where she had been standing. She gave a sigh of relief before her worries came back. There was no way Charlie could have survived that. He had to have been right where it happened. She knew without a shadow of a doubt he was gone.

A few hours had passed and everyone had went about trying to get the camp back together, but not Claire. She waited and waited and waited. Staring blankly at the path he had left on earlier that day. She knew she was getting some strange looks from the other castaways wondering why she wasn't helping, but she just stood there. Pacing back and forth with the small infant in her arms.

Until he appeared. He came stumbling out of the jungle without any sign of Eko. She watched him blankly in disbelief. She watched as Bernard ran up to him and she watched as he held his ear in pain. and then he turned to her. Like he knew she was going to be standing there. And then she smiled at him. The 1st time she had smiled at him in a long, long time. And he smiled back, and she felt safe.


	2. Nothing Happened

"Nothing Happened"

Darkness had fell a few hours earlier and Claire was still sitting next to Charlie. It was like she was afraid he would disappear if she left him, even if only for a minute. He had been acting strange since he got back. More like disoriented.

She could tell by his arm that he had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Yet, he wasn't acting as though he was in pain. He was acting like a wide-eyed child on Christmas morning. Almost as though he was surprised to be there. Excited to be there. Like he knew he was suppose to be somewhere else.

"What happened out there, Charlie?"

"You want to hear the part about me nearly being killed by the flaming fireball…or the flying fork?"

A joke. He decided to make a joke. It was almost like he thought the whole thing was a joke. That he was just happy to be there and wanted her to be happy to.

"I want you to be serious." He got the picture.

"Nothing happened."

"Well, something happened. I mean that noise and the sky turned that weird violet color."

"Really?" He was making another joke. Why was he in such a good mood. For all he knew Eko and Locke were dead and he was making jokes. And even though she tried to look serious and she knew she should be serious…she smiled.

She then tried to distract herself by looking at the cut on his arm. Ever since she had had Aaron she had a motherly way about her. Always trying to fix cuts and scrapes. As she touched his arm he flinched, but it was a delayed reaction. Like it didn't really hurt him, but he knew it should.

And then he looked at her. He looked at her and she couldn't help but look back. It was like someone else had taken over her body as she found herself just wanting to touch him. She wanted to be near him…to feel safe.

She didn't even realize that her hand had moved to his forehead. Gently swiping his long bangs out of his face. And he looked at her. He looked at her as to say you can trust me. She wasn't scared anymore. She knew he wasn't going to use her. She knew he wasn't Thomas. He wouldn't break her heart.

She kissed him. Not long and not passionate. Just enough to say I forgive you. And he accepted gratefully as she took his hand. They sat like that for awhile longer. Just holding each others hand and every once in awhile looking at the other. Hoping they wouldn't notice like a 6th grader on their 1st date.

Claire didn't know what was coming over her. She felt like he had cast a magical spell on her that let her forgive him. She stood up out of nowhere.

"I'm gonna be heading to bed. It's pretty late." The smile he had had since he had got back faded.

"Of course" He looked like he was loosing his long, lost love. Like this was the last time he'd ever talk to her. And once again his magical spell worked its charm.

"Charlie…Would you like to move back to my tent?" His face quickly lit up again.

"Of course, Love. I thought you'd never ask."


	3. I Want You To Be Serious

Hey guys...I wanted to thank the two of you who have reviewed. This is my 1st fanfic so I'm trying. Okay, so the last two chapters were kindof just going back over what actually happened, but also having their thoughts thrown in there. It should be new material from here on out.

Disclaimers: I don't own anything, but one day I swear I will get Dom drunk in a Vegas casino and we shall get hitched by some guy pretending to be Elvis. JK.

"I Want You To Be Serious"

Charlie sat staring at Claire in THEIR tent. After several minutes of this Claire was beginning to feel uneasy.

"What are you so distracted by tonight, Charlie?"

Charlie stared at her a moment more before replying. "Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

Claire's cheeks became bright red at his comment. "Thanks" She said rolling her eyes so she was looking at Aaron in his cradle, instead if Charlie.

"I'm serious." Claire looked back at him as he went on. "I would rather live on this island for an eternity with you…than be back in the real world without you."

"That's sweet…but you can't mean that." She said shaking her head while turning back to the sleeping infant.

Charlie reached his hand out and lightly touched her cheek, turning her head to look him in the eyes. "You still don't get it do you?"

"Get what?" She asked looking in his eyes for any sign of what he meant.

"I…I love you, Claire"

She gave him a curious look as she searched his eyes and into his soul, and what she saw was sincerity.

Claire slowly placed her hand on top of his which was still lightly brushing her cheek. All the while never taking her eyes off his. "I think…I might love you too"

She then kissed him for the 2nd time that night. This time it was different though. It was deep, full of passion…and love. Claire felt herself furthering the kiss as she moved closer to him. She wanted him. She wished that their was some way to guarantee he'd be there forever, to look out for her and keep her safe. Charlie, sensing where this was going, lightly touched her arm as he pulled out of the kiss.

"What's wrong?" She asked quickly, worried she had done something.

Charlie looked down at his hand resting on her arm. "Let's not"

"Did I…" Charlie took note that she thought she had done something wrong and quickly cut her off.

"I want this night to be special, Claire. I just want to lie under the stars together, talking all night. I want to learn everything about you. Things that you've never trusted with anyone before. I want us to reassure each other that everything is going to be okay."

Claire had had almost every emotion imaginable that night. From fear, relief, love, and now confusion. She thought that this had been what Charlie had wanted.

"Charlie, I…"

"Your always saying when I don't want to answer a question I make a joke. So let's be serious…I want to be serious. I want to tell you things that I'm ashamed of, things that I've hidden from myself for far to long." Claire's confused expression suddenly changed into a small smile. "Charlie Pace…you are the strangest…and at the same time, the most beautiful person I've ever met."

Okay...so there it is Chapter 3. I hope you enjoy and reviews are always welcomed.


	4. The Pain Was Gone

Never Alone

An hour passed as Charlie and Claire laid under the stars talking about anything and everything. Claire's head lay on his chest listening to the raspy sounds of his breathing. Charlie held one hand behind his head as he gazed up at the stars as the other one gently rubbed circle's on Claire's back.

"Do you ever think we'll get rescued?" She asked looking up from the angle she was laying.

"Yes love, I think you'll be rescued very soon"

"You'll? You act as though you aren't included."

"You don't have to worry about that, love. I'll never leave you…promise."

She smiled softly as she looked back up at the stars. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah…like you"

"Charlie, stop that!"

He laughed at her humbleness. "Hey, Claire?"

"Yeah"

"What do you think heaven's like?"

Claire inhaled slightly as she thought about the question. "Like here"

"This island?"

"No" She said with a small smile. "This moment"

Charlie smiled at the thought of lying under the stars with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen…forever. Without the others, without the fears, without the dawn coming to wisp it all away.

"One can only wish"

"Charlie?" She asked after a moment. "Why are you so worried about heaven?"

"What?"

"I mean you don't appear to be religious, but you act like you are. Asking about heaven, going on about baptism, building a church, and I'm pretty sure you didn't want to break that Virgin Mary statue. Even if you truly hadn't known what was inside"

Charlie's smile changed quickly. He truly hated that he had lied to Claire about the statue in the first place.

"I use to be…I use to be an alter boy if that even sounds believable"

Claire knew something was crushing Charlie inside. "What happened to you?"

Charlie was still in a bit of confusion himself about what had happened.

"It was suppose to be about the music. He said…He said we would walk away if it got out of hand"

"Who said?"

"My brother…Liam"

Charlie had completely forgot that Claire didn't know anything about him before the crash. He felt like he had known her forever. Like she already knew everything about him.

"So…things got out of hand?"

"Yeah…things were getting out of hand before we even had a contract…I was going to tell him I was through the same day he told me we had been signed…He told me I was the band and that I would only be thinking of myself if I left…Liam always did have a way with words. So, I agreed…But only under one condition…If things got out of hand, we'd walk away"

"Is that what happened? Did you walk away?"

Charlie laughed slightly. "I wish that was what had happened…We we're doing pretty good on our tour…I wrote the songs, and Liam sung them. Of course the only person people recognize is the lead singer…So, he misses rehearsal, again. I go to find him and he's in the back room with some groupies, getting high. That was the last straw for me. I tell everyone to get out and then I told Liam the band was through."

He then looked at Claire.

"Believe or not…I use to be a good person"

"You're still a good person" She had moved closer while he was talking. She could tell he had been hurt a lot in his past and needed someone to believe him. That's all he ever needed was someone to believe in him. He had moved his hand from the back of his head and grabbed her hand that was laying on his chest.

"He laughed in my face…Said 'No one even knows who the sodding bass player is.' That if I wasn't in the band. I was no use as a person"

Claire looked at Charlie with sympathy. She had no idea what all he had been through. "He doesn't sound like a very good brother"

"Yeah, well…I trusted him more than anyone in the world, and even though I knew he was high and he didn't mean it…I believed him. And I don't know what I was thinking when I walked over to his chair or when I took out his heroin. But I cried, and it took the pain away"


	5. Lullabys

Thanks so much to my reviewers, especially PaceJunkie. And yes, hopefully I have a surprise up my sleeves. Dramatic Music We'll just have to wait and see. Okay with that let's start Chapter 5. :) Enjoy!

Claire looked at Charlie sympathetically. She had had no idea what Charlie had been through.

"I'm so sorry" She was starting to feel really bad for being mad at Charlie about the drugs in the first place. She had assumed he had done the normal rock star thing. It hadn't even crossed her mind that maybe Charlie hadn't wanted to use the drugs as much as she didn't want him to.

He smiled lightly. "It's okay, love. The past is the past" He said releasing her hand and rubbing her cheek softly. "Okay, you've heard my depressing story…what's yours?" Charlie could tell from the moment he had meet her that she was hiding something. Most people didn't notice. Mainly because she seemed so sweet and innocent on the outside. Like she knew nothing about what really went on in the world. But at the same time she couldn't be that innocent, right? She had a baby with no father that was for sure.

"Thomas" She said after a minute. She usually tried to keep the name pushed as far back in her mind as possible, but hearing Charlie's story she felt she owed him something. "Thomas is my depressing story...Everything that went wrong in my life was because of him...My mum, who was the only family member I had. Since I never knew my dad...Well my mum disowned me because I was sleeping with him...Then we found out I was pregnant...I was...I was going to get an abortion, but..."

Charlie closed his eyes as he pictured not having Aaron around. Claire noticed the look. "I know" She said as her voice broke and she cried. "I was going to hurt the one person who trusted me with his life...The one person who's never hurt me...The one person…" That was as far as it got. She was in hysterics. Charlie sat up quickly as Claire collapsed into his arms crying uncontrollably.

Charlie rubbed her back gently as he whispered in her ear.

"Shhh…love. It's okay"

"He…He said…He said…we could do it"

"Well he got half of it right...You're doing it Claire. You're doing it without anyone's help. On an island at that…If you ask me, you're the best mum ever"

"I…I…wouldn't even be here…without you"

"I don't think that's true at all...I think you'd be here and you'd be doing just as good without me"

"No"

"Claire, look at me"

She turned her head to look into his blue eyes. "You CAN do this, Claire. You can make it. You can make it without me. You can make it without Locke. You can make it without Jack" Claire had finally quieted down enough to talk logically.

"But I don't have to...You're always gonna be here, right?…No matter what."

"No matter what" He said with a smile before noticing the bags under her eyes.

He hadn't realized how long they had stayed up. It was around 5 and he knew everyone would be up around 7. "You tired, love? Ready for bed?" She nodded her head softly as she laid down on her side and Charlie laid down behind her. Her back touching his stomach so there wasn't an inch of space between them.

"Charlie?"

"Yes, Love"

"Will you sing me a song?"


	6. And Goodnight

Okay, Chapter 6. Song in this chapter, but I don't believe it's a real song. So...no disclaimer. I think this fic only has a few more Chapters left. 1 or 2. Okay...3 at the most. Enjoy...

And Goodnight

"I'd love to" Charlie said sitting up quickly and reaching for his guitar which was sitting in a corner of the tent. Claire could tell he was grinning from ear to ear without even looking at him. He'd look for any excuse to play a song, especially for Claire. She was still lying with her back facing him as she heard him tune the chords. After about 5 minutes she heard him start to strum a melody. A few seconds later he was off in his own world singing for Claire.****

I think it's her eyes and her hair,  
Or maybe the way she pretends that she cares.  
And the way that she looks today,  
makes me tremble but in a good way.  
You probably think that I'm high,  
But believe me, I wouldn't even try.  
Now you smiling so wide, and your batting your eyes  
And I'm sorry that I made you cry.

Then maybe that smile'd be for me,  
But I guess we just weren't meant to be,  
And my voice is shaking now, along with me hands,

Could I be any weaker of a man?  
Cause your all that I see, and your all that I need.  
But I'm out of my league once again.

It's strange now, that I'm sitting here.

Without any worries or fears.

Will you actually give me a chance,

As we try out this brand new romance?

And now as I sit here and stare,

As you thoughtlessly thumb through your hair.

I feel that I'm falling in love,

With an angel that fell from above.

Now your laughing and batting your eyes,

And there's no need to think of goodbyes.  
Yeah, your all that I see and your all that I need,

And I'm out of my league once again.

And now that my heaven is here,

There's nothing that I need to fear.

With one last strum he finished the song. Claire turned to face him.

"That was beautiful. How did you just make that up on the spot?"

"Magic, love. Maybe I'll let you read the best part ever"

"Saving the best for last, huh?"

"Of course. You know I wouldn't just leave you empty handed"

Claire let out a huge yawn before smiling one more time at Charlie.

"Goodnight, Charlie…I'll see you tomorrow"

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you hear from me" He said with a small laugh, but Claire didn't even hear him. She had fallen into a peaceful sleep without fears or cares or worries. She knew Charlie was looking out for her. He smiled one more time as he bent down and kiss her cheek. "Sweet dreams, love. Tomorrow is going to be a nig day."


	7. Morning After

Chapter 7

Claire woke up early morning with a small smile to the sound of a guitar strumming. She knew she couldn't have possibly gotten more than 3 hours of sleep, yet she felt as though she had been sleeping peacefully for hours. "Good Morning" She said as she turned toward the sound. She was surprised to find herself in an empty tent.

"Charlie?" She said as she looked around and realized none of his stuff, including his guitar that he had moved back to the tent the night before was there. She quickly stood up picking up Aaron gently and headed out of the tent. "Charlie?" She said a bit louder in case he was nearby, as she looked down the beach for any sign of where he had went.

"Sun!" She said noticing the woman hanging clothes by her tent. The woman turned at the sound of her name and gave Claire a light smile. Claire walked as quickly as she could with the small infant in her arms toward the woman. Sun saw the panic on Claire's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you seen, Charlie?"

"No. Not since yesterday. Did something happen?"

"The church" Claire said quickly, ignoring Sun's question.

"What?" The Korean woman asked in a state of confusion.

"Will you watch, Aaron?"

"Of course. But what's…" Claire quickly placed the baby in Sun's arms and ran towards the one thing that could replace Charlie's drug addiction…religion.

"Eko!" She said seeing the priest coming out of the church. She sighed in relief that they had gotten back, and the night before was not just a beautiful dream. As Claire got closer she saw the look of sympathy in Eko's eyes. "I was coming to find you" He said sternly. Claire felt that sick feeling from the day before crawling back through her veins.

"What's wrong?" She said biting her lower lip in fear of the answer.

"I'm sorry" He said shaking his head slightly.

"Sorry for what? What hap…"

"Come" Eko said cutting her off and motioning to the church door.

She nodded slightly as she entered the church. She was amazed at how hard Charlie had been working on it. All four walls were up and half of the roof. Once inside the church Eko motioned his head toward a figure covered in the blue waterproof tarp, Claire had gotten to accustomed to seeing. She knew where this was going. But it couldn't be true.

"What happened?" She asked turning her head from the form, and looking back at Eko with tears in her eyes.

"There was an incident in the hatch. I'm not sure what it was. Some sort of electromagnetic explosion…Claire, Charlie…died…a few hours after the explosion" Claire laughed slightly. "No…That's not true. We felt the explosion here, and Charlie…Charlie showed up a few hours after it"

"Claire…what you say can not be true. Charlie was with me and Locke in the hatch until he died. I carried him back here myself"

Claire's voice broke suddenly as she looked at the figure.

"No! That can't be him! She said pointing as the form.

"Claire" Eko said putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry" Claire gave him a dirty glare before pushing his hand off of her shoulder and walking towards the tarp slowly.


	8. Death

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I'm incredibly lazy. Plus I spent all weekend rewatching all of S2. Umm...I meant to say earlier sorry about the song chapter It kindof uploaded the lyrics weird. Anyways there is going to be one more Chapter after this then sadly it's going to be over. Although I am working on another story called fading memories in case ya'll want anymore Charlie/Claire junk. Although most of my stories are tragedy's. Don't ask me why. They are just what I always seem to write. Sorry If you're confused hopefully you'll get it figured out by the end. Enjoy!

Death

Claire slowly pulled back the blue tarp to reveal the only person who had never saw her flaws. The one person who never judged her. The one person who would have died to protect her. She slowly reached down and brushed his long bangs to the side. Her fingers slowly moved down his cold cheek and down his arm as she grabbed his hand.

She softly began to sob as she remembered how she had grabbed his hand two days before at Ana Lucia and Libby's funerals. Now she wouldn't have anyone's hand to hold for comfort as the man she had loved from the beginning was lowered into the ground. She dropped down to her knees so she would be eye level with the row of seats from the plane he had been placed on.

She began to cry louder as she continued to brush his cheek with her free hand that wasn't holding his. She felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, Claire" She looked at Charlie for a moment more before responding.

"I wasn't there…He died by himself…He died before I could…before I could tell him…I loved him…I wasn't there to hold his hand…What if…What if he was scared?" She managed to choke out between sobs.

"I don't think he was scared at all, Claire. In fact, he was very brave. The only thing he would say was 'Tell Claire I'm sorry I hurt her. Tell her I love her' He said it was important for you to decide what to do with his personal belongings"

Claire nodded her head slowly as she turned back to Charlie. As she moved her hand that had been brushing his cheek to his arm she noticed the burn that she had seen the night before in the dream that had been all to real. As she grazed the burn gently, she couldn't help but wonder how she had seen it. How could she have seen it?

"When…when did he get this?"

"Last night during a dynamite explosion in the hatch"

Claire looked at the burn one last time before brushing off the strange feeling crawling inside of her. She slowly bent down and kissed his cold cheek.

"I love you, too" She whispered to him. She looked at the hand she was still grabbing. She slowly took off his Drive Shaft ring, and released his hand. She stood up, brushing his bangs for the last time as she placed the ring on her finger and headed out the door.


	9. Heaven on Earth

I'm really sorry It took so long to put the final Chapter of this story up. I just get in moods where I don't feel like writing. Well I think the ending to this story is alittle better than I originally thought it would be. Leave me some reviews to tell me what you think. Remember this was my 1st story so constructive criticism is good. :) Thanks so much for all the great reviews I have gotten for this story & if you like it you should check out my 2nd story Never leave you. I'm really gonna miss writing for Heaven on Earth. With that enjoy the last installment.

Heaven on Earth

Claire stood in front of the tent…his tent. She was somewhat scared to go in. The walk from the church which should have taken 15 minutes tops ended up taking an hour. It could have been because she was in her own dazed world. She wasn't crying. She had stopped that as soon as she turned away from him. As soon as she could say it wasn't happening. She had just walked down the beach like a mindless zombie. More like floating, actually. Treading the sand so lightly as to barely leave a footprint. She wasn't thinking of anything. A couple of times she even forget where she was heading in the 1st place. Or the more likely cause, for her late arrival at the tent was that she wanted to hold onto the hope that he's be there strumming his guitar at her arrival. That he would say 'Morning, love. How'd you sleep? Sorry I left so early, I wanted to surprise you by setting up a picnic lunch. I didn't worry you, did I?' But, now she was here at his tent, and he very clearly wasn't. There could be no more postponing of the inevitable. She walked into the tent, took a deep breath, and dropped to her knees before she could lose her balance. Claire looked at the total mess around her. She could definitely tell there had been a male living there by himself. His guitar lay on its back towards the end of the tent. She gently picked it up, avoiding the strings at all cost. The last thing in the world she wanted was for one to break. She wanted his hands to be the last to touch the well-worn strings. She gently slid it in its case and placed it aside. His hoodie sat in the middle of the tent. She could tell he had thrown it down in a hurry by the way it was laying. The hoodie…his hoodie. Probably the thing she wanted most. Why? She couldn't even tell you that herself. Maybe she thought it would feel like him, or better yet maybe she hoped it would have his scent. Not a very good scent. The scent of hurt and anger. She picked it up quickly only to hear the breaking of glass as a familiar, empty, glass jar tumbled to the ground. That's when she lost it. Claire couldn't take it anymore. What had she ever done to deserve this. To learn to love just in time to have it ripped away. She picked up his clothes and threw them out of the tent, his luggage went next one thing after another went flying out of the tent until all that was left was a guitar, a hoodie, and a broken imaginary peanut butter jar. She dropped down to the floor again. She was sobbing so uncontrollably that everything was blurry. She pulled the hoodie over her head, making sure the hood was as far over her face as it could reach. She sat like that for a long time, with her knees pulled against her chest. Finally she laid down. Exhausted from crying and worrying. Reaching her hands into the pocket of the hoodie, she felt the crinkle of a piece of paper. Pulling it out and unfolding it gently she read the all too familiar lyrics.

_I think it's her eyes and her hair,  
Or maybe the way she pretends that she cares.  
And the way that she looks today,  
makes me tremble but in a good way.  
You probably think that I'm high,  
But believe me, I wouldn't even try.  
Now you smiling so wide, and your batting your eyes  
And I'm sorry that I made you cry._

_Then maybe that smile'd be for me,  
But I guess we just weren't meant to be,  
And my voice is shaking now, along with me hands,_

_Could I be any weaker of a man?  
Cause your all that I see, and your all that I need.  
But I'm out of my league once again. _

_It's strange now, that I'm sitting here._

_Without any worries or fears._

_Will you actually give me a chance,_

_As we try out this brand new romance?_

_And now as I sit here and stare,_

_As you thoughtlessly thumb through your hair._

_I feel that I'm falling in love,_

_With an angel that fell from above._

_Now your laughing and batting your eyes,_

_And there's no need to think of goodbyes.  
Yeah, your all that I see and your all that I need,_

_And I'm out of my league once again._

_And now that my heaven is here. _

_There's nothing that I need to fear._

Claire's eyes were wide as she reread the lyrics over and over again. It couldn't have been a dream. She had heard this. He had sang this to her the night before. Suddenly flashes of their conversation from the previous day buzzed through her head.

"_I want this night to be special, Claire. I just want to lie under the stars together, talking all night. I want to learn everything about you. Things that you've never trusted with anyone before. **I want us to reassure each other that everything is going to be okay."**_

"_I think you'll be rescued very soon" _

"_**You'll? You act as though you aren't included." **_

"_You don't have to worry about that, love. I'll never leave you…promise." _

"_Hey, Claire?" _

"_Yeah" _

"_**What do you think heaven's like?" **_

"_Like here" _

"_This island?" _

"_No…This moment**…"Why are you so worried about heaven?" **_

"_Well he got half of it right. You're doing it Claire. You're doing it without anyone's help. On an island at that…If you ask me, you're the best mum ever" _

"_I…I…wouldn't be here…without you" _

"_I don't think that's true at all. I think you'd be here and you'd be doing just as good without me" _

"_No" _

"_Claire, look at me…**You CAN do this, Claire. You can make it. You can make it without me.** You can make it without Locke. You can make it without Jack."_

"_But I don't have to. You're always gonna be here, right?…No matter what." _

"_No matter what" _

"_That was beautiful. How did you just make that up on the spot?" _

"_Magic, love. Maybe I'll let you read the best part ever"_

"_Saving the best for last, huh?" _

"_Of course. You know I wouldn't just leave you empty handed" _

"_Goodnight, Charlie…I'll see you tomorrow" _

"_**Don't worry. I'll make sure you hear from me" **_

"He knew" Claire said quickly as she snapped back into reality. "You knew" She said as she began frantically rereading the lyrics looking for a sign…any sign. As she read the last line out loud she couldn't help, but look up at the heavens.

_And now that my heaven is here. _

_There's nothing that I need to fear._

_Claire, sorry I had to leave on such short notice. I didn't really have a say in the matter. Your going to be okay. I promise. Your going to be rescued. Your going to get married. Your going to have a family. Your going to live to be 93. I'll be there for you always. To keep you safe. To keep you warm on winter nights. To protect you. You were my Heaven on Earth, Claire. And I'll be yours. I've loved you since the first time I laid my eyes on you. And I'll love you for eternity._

_Yours Always Charlie_

Claire slowly pulled the hood off her head. She looked down to read the words again, but all she saw we're the lyrics and nothing more. But it was enough, he was there and that's all she needed, and she swears she could feel a kiss on her cheek as she said with a smile. "I'll see you in awhile, Charlie…I'll see you in awhile"

END

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